What is the Chavundi Daiva, the famous reference from Kantara amidst Ranveer Singh controversy? Details inside

The event was supposed to be an amusing tribute to Rishab Shetty, but it angered fans of Chavundi Daiva instead.

A viral video from the last day of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa has made actor Ranveer Singh the center of a controversy that has quickly spread beyond Bollywood.

When Ranveer imitated a strong scene from Kantara: Chapter 1 upon seeing Rishab Shetty at the event, it turned a high-energy moment on stage into a cultural conflagration.

The event was supposed to be an amusing tribute to Rishab Shetty, but it angered fans of Chavundi Daiva instead. Who is Chavundi Daiva, and why is this picture so important? What does Chavundi Daiva mean?

Chavundi Daiva, also known as Chavundi, Pilichavundi, or Pilchandi, is a god that people in Karnataka's Tulu Nadu region worship. She has a strong spirit that protects. She is the embodiment of pure feminine energy that is linked to justice, protection, and getting rid of evil. This is a big part of the Bhoota Kola way of life.

According to Mythlok, Chavundi is a powerful being in Tulu cosmology who is feared, respected, and worshiped. Panjurli is a good spirit, but Chavundi is not. Instead, it stands for a force that restores balance by inflicting pain and intensity. People mostly consider of her as Guliga Daiva's sister.

She is one of the strongest people who protect the country. The clothing she wore for the ceremony is quite gorgeous. To gain their energy, artists apply ash on their faces, act out powerful feelings, walk around a lot, and go into trance-like states. These states indicate how much control she has over life, death, and what is good and wrong. Not a deity, but a daiva. People all around the country started to care about Chavundi after the events in Kantara.

In the Tulu tradition, Chavundi Daiva is a spirit god. Mythlok says that Chavundi stems from the spiritual traditions of Tulu Nadu, which are centered on the land and its historical stories. She also adds that Chavundi is like Chamunda, a powerful version of Durga who killed the demons Chanda and Munda.

At the end of IFFI, Ranveer Singh acted out the heartbreaking Chavundi scene from Kantara: Chapter 1. As soon as videos went viral on social media of the actor enacting the scene, netizens quickly started talking about it, arguing about how to respect other cultures while yet being allowed to express themselves artistically.